Baby Photo tips?

[sans2012]

Hey guys,

The call has come to take some snaps of my gf's friend’s baby (new born) (well a couple of weeks old anyways).

Any tips and advice for baby photography would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Michael.

[mpot]

I'll keep an eye on this thread two - our 4th child is due next month ;-)

Cheers,
Martin.

[methd]

1) go for a soft look, but always focus on the eyes and them frame the picture from there
2) natural lighting is best or very subtle flash that has been bounced
3) least shadows on the face as possible
4) take care on the pose and that depends on the baby's age
5) get the baby's attention and try and get them to look at the camera
6) try different angles/perspective and body poses
7) use max aperture for max background blurring
8) use higher iso if u cant shoot faster than 1/120 ish with max aperture - also use a tripod if the baby is in a cot
9) make the background as boring as u can, not bright, and doesnt reflect light
10) 100% face crops are pretty popular
11) if there's a rear wall, try not to cast any shadows onto it when using a flash


that's all i can think about for now :)

[methd]

12) use spot metering (or meter on the face)
13) use spot focus, also on the face (eyes)
14) always shoot raw to adjust lighting and WB later

[methd]

15) some good shots always comes up when parents are holding the baby in a loving pose
16) comparing baby v adult body parts is pretty popular (ie size of hands/feet)
17) use relevant props but don't overdo it (large clothes on a small kid looks cool)
18) getting a good expression is the key, apart from the technical side of the shot


yes, i'm bored and there's nothing to do at 3am

[methd]

19) use the best portrait lens u have for the best perspective and least distortion... around 50mm for DSLR crop bodies.

[methd]

for processing post-shot

1) don't add too much contrast (or any at all)
2) don't sharpen too much
3) don't saturate the colours
4) work on editing the face and eyes
5) 1/3 a stop overexposed is sometimes nice, but photos underexposed are definately not a good thing with baby shots
6) extra gaussian blur to the background is effective also
7) close face crops are nice (but leave some room for printing and framing)

..... i'm still bored

[peakey]

just like shooting animals... take a LOT of photos.

[sans2012]

Hey thanks Methd, I reckon you covered every aspect of baby photography with your post. I owe you one buddy:) And get some sleep will ya;)

I'll let you guys now how it goes and hope the parent’s dont mind me posting a couple of pics for demonstration.

@peakey, I guess we are all monkeys ah lol.

[SirNobicus]

I'll vote for taking lots of fotoz
lots of obscure angles

if you are shooting very close to the birth, ie within a couple of hours, high ISO....1600+ and no flash, looks really grainy but can turn out really awesome.

film kodak TMAX 3200 B/W is reall good for this!

thats about all i can think of for the moment

[sans2012]

I'll vote for taking lots of fotoz
lots of obscure angles

if you are shooting very close to the birth, ie within a couple of hours, high ISO....1600+ and no flash, looks really grainy but can turn out really awesome.

film kodak TMAX 3200 B/W is reall good for this!

thats about all i can think of for the moment

Cheers Mr. Nobicus, I will definitely take a heap of shots, always do:)

The baby is a few weeks old now but, I'll take on that advice anyhow because I guess it applies anyways.

This thing you speak of, film...:p

[methd]

Hey thanks Methd, I reckon you covered every aspect of baby photography with your post. I owe you one buddy:) And get some sleep will ya;)

I'll let you guys now how it goes and hope the parent’s dont mind me posting a couple of pics for demonstration.

@peakey, I guess we are all monkeys ah lol.

:)

i didn't wake up til midday today, a bit tired haha.. but i brought my fish eyes to work to see what i can come up with :)

[sans2012]

:)

i didn't wake up til midday today, a bit tired haha.. but i brought my fish eyes to work to see what i can come up with :)

Beats the beer goggles;)

[SirNobicus]

Cheers Mr. Nobicus, I will definitely take a heap of shots, always do:)

The baby is a few weeks old now but, I'll take on that advice anyhow because I guess it applies anyways.

This thing you speak of, film...:pFILM....errrr i must have been tripping or something that really doesn't make too much sense


I will see if i can scan a shot of the B/W in and post it up (pending permission from my sis... long story)... using fast iso film means that you can shoot without a flash... I will see what I can do and post some examples

[Ronbo]

And lastly don't show fear....look em directly in the eyes and for Gods sake don't show fear...they sense that you know....and then its all over!! :D

[Gypsy]

I'll be interested in seeing some of the photos if the parents are happy for you to share them.
Craigus & I are expecting #2 in June, so this thread is helpful for us too.:p

[SirNobicus]

Permission denied with a big <comments deleted as there are young ones>. I can't just get a no answer from her i get an argument.

Blow that now more free fotos for her... the cow can pay for any more shots that I do.


But here is a link to a friends Gallery (http://www.airgeadstudio.net/gallery.php?Category_id=3), there is a couple of shots of newborns, using Tmax 3200 B&W...notice the grain.

He was the one who gave me the ideas for when I shot my sisters bub.

[PicturePerfect]

for newborns & before the bub can sit, a beanbag covered in a nice blanket work well cause you can mold them into shape to hold the baby in different ways.

[thing]

Umm...Don't make em cry!!:D

[sans2012]

Damn, I actually forgot about this post. My gf's friends baby is all ready for a shoot on the coming weekend.

I'll post up some picks if its OK with mum:)

Thanks to everyone for all the sound advice and tips:)

[Prince Harry]

In my view you cant go past black background.
Set up a black backdrop and a single light source.
Have someone in a black shirt hold the baby in an appropriate pose such as the image on this site http://www.kidsphotography.com.au and you can photoshop the rest as required.
Can be taken in jpg but you have more control over image manipulation in RAW

[MagnusAgrenPhotography]

hmmm...

i got a friends baby shoot on sunday...

will see how it goes..

hopefully alright..

any suggestions as to props etc to take?

like i think i like the black back drop thing... so i will try organise that..

but anything else?

flower pots...??? i dunno :)

Its a baby girl...

maybe 1-2months old... i should really know :) haha

[sans2012]

hmmm...

i got a friends baby shoot on sunday...

will see how it goes..

hopefully alright..

any suggestions as to props etc to take?

like i think i like the black back drop thing... so i will try organise that..

but anything else?

flower pots...??? i dunno :)

Its a baby girl...

maybe 1-2months old... i should really know :) haha

Maybe a purple backdrop?

Rubber duck for sure:)

Good luck buddy!

[MagnusAgrenPhotography]

Post processing my images now, what do people think, mainly B&W? or colour?

so far its looking mainly black and white.. but its hard sometimes to choose :P

[SirNobicus]

I really like B/W... especially stuff with alot of grain.

but that is just me
:D

[Helen S]

A bit of both always goes well for a photo album, but it depends on the shot. You'll know when they're processed which way to go. ;)

...and thanks for the tips here folks. I've been asked to do a baby shoot myself and was wondering how to tackle this. Babies are not really my forté, but this is a favour. :)

[Harves]

Preferably a bounced flash off the ceiling, maybe diffused would be better. Baby skin is very pale and it is easy to overexpose. You will need to experiment with the lighting before you start. I use my flash off camera as well.

Check out the thread I posted this week titled Baby Collage

[hyperactive]

Just a small thing to add is not to take the picture flat on the face. Get it at a good angle, maybe something like 45 degrees and the baby will have a more plump cute look...